Version has to be the kernel version (e.g. “2.4.33”)
Release should be customized (e.g. “xeon_1.0”). Release will be used for the “EXTRAVERSION” variable in the main kernel Makefile, so you should get at the end that the output of “uname -r” is exactly Version-Release (in this case “2.4.33-xeon_1.0” and “2.4.33-xeon_1.0smp” for the SMP version).
Set kernel24 1 if you are compiling a 2.4 kernel, 0 if it is a 2.6 kernel.

Rebuild the kernel

To recompile the kernel:

rpm -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/my_kernel.spec

or:

rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/my_kernel.spec

You should get two binary packages (kernel-* and kernel-smp-*) in: /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/

Changing your Deault DNS provided by the ISP to OpenDNS makes the Web experience more secure and more customized. You can block several sites having viruses, spywares, pornography etc. in a simpler way. Also you can make shotcuts for adreesses that are easy to use with. For example, you only need to type mail to go to mail.yahoo.com if you set the shortcuts properly using OpenDNS. This service is free of cost, and its much faster.

To use OpenDNS you need to register an account at OpenDNS. If you’re using broadband internet such as BSNL, you need to setup the Primary and Secondary DNS to OpenDNS. To do this, follow

Select DNS and use custom instead of Default DNS. Enter the Primary and secondary DNS as 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

Save and reboot the DSL Router.

You can change the settings at OpenDNS Dashbord. Use your security level and shortcuts.

You also need a client side program called ddclient for active communication with OpenDNS (To report your dynamic IP addresses to OpenDNS). It can be downloaded at http://ddclient.wiki.sourceforge.net/. Windows and Mac versions are available at OpenDNS site. For Ubuntu it is availabe via Synaptic.

sudo apt-get install ddclient

The configuration file for OpenDNS is like (in /etc/ddclient/ddclient.conf)

1. Activate Ubuntu universe sources. This can be done in Synaptic, or by editing the /etc/apt/sources.list file.
2. Use apt-get or synaptic to install prelink.
3. Now run:

sudo gedit /etc/default/prelink

4. Near the top of the file find PRELINKING=unknown and change unknown to yes.
5. Now you should start your first prelink, don’t worry it will be faster the next time, MUCH faster. Only the changes since your last prelink will be processed. To start the first prelink, run:

You just have to edit /etc/defaults/avahi and set that =1 to =0. If all goes well, it won’t run next boot.

Concurrency

If you’re using a dualcore machine, use concurrency mechanism. Edit /etc/init.d/rc and change CONCURRENCY=None to CONCURRENCY=shell

Boot Profiling

(1) At the bootup menu (GRUB), select your default kernel. You may need to press ESC to see this menu.

(2) Press e for edit.

(3) Choose the first line (it should start with “kernel”). Press e again.

(4) Move to the end of the line, then add the word profile. Press enter.

(5) Press b to boot.

(6) Let the system boot to the login screen, and wait for all disk activity to stop. Remember, during this one bootup, you’ve told Ubuntu to keep track of all disk activity going on, in order to build that list. Don’t be surprised if it’s significantly slower than your ordinary bootups — that’s why it’s not activated by default, remember?

After you’ve downloaded and installed the latest JDK form the Sun servers, you need to set up the class paths so that you can run java and javac from the terminal (Sun’s JAVA instead GNU GCJ). Here is the steps to set the classpaths

Move the extracted files to /usr/java (if not exist, create a new directory)